Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s meeting with MPs over the Union government’s proposed delimitation exercise is set to face a boycott by DMK parliamentarians, opening a fresh political disagreement within the state over how to respond to the Centre’s proposal.

Vijay is scheduled to chair the meeting at Kalaivanar Arangam in Chennai at 3 pm on Saturday to discuss the proposed delimitation exercise and its likely impact on Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary M Sai Kumar sent separate invitations to MPs on August 6 and 7, government sources said.

However, DMK sources said the party’s MPs would not attend the meeting. The party has maintained that it would participate if the state government convenes an all-party meeting on the Mekedatu issue.

A DMK MP described the decision to invite individual parliamentarians as a flawed approach, arguing that the government should have first reached out to the party’s top leadership.

“The MPs have a mandate to follow the party line. This meeting is unnecessary,” the MP said, adding that the DMK was committed to protecting Tamil Nadu’s interests.

The MP also pointed to DMK president M K Stalin’s opposition to the proposed delimitation exercise, saying Stalin had already spoken out and fought against the move in what the party sees as an effort to protect Tamil Nadu’s interests.

Congress backs Vijay’s meeting

Congress MP Manickam Tagore, meanwhile, criticised those who choose not to attend the meeting, saying the issue should be viewed from the perspective of Tamil Nadu’s interests rather than party politics.

“Those who place their politics above Tamil Nadu's interests may choose not to attend,” Tagore said in a statement.

He said those who put Tamil Nadu first and politics second would attend the all-party meeting convened by the chief minister.

“This is not about party politics. It is about Tamil Nadu's rights, interests and future. The people of Tamil Nadu are watching. And they will remember who stood with Tamil Nadu when it mattered,” Tagore said.

Congress is an ally of Tamil Nadu’s ruling TVK.

Mekedatu issue adds to political friction

The dispute over the meeting comes amid a separate disagreement over the Mekedatu issue.

On Friday, when Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin raised the Mekedatu issue in the Assembly, Vijay said he was the one who had proposed holding talks with neighbouring Karnataka on the Cauvery issue, including Mekedatu, in the hope of finding a positive outcome.

The chief minister also said in the Assembly that he did not want to indulge in “cheap politics” over the issue.

The disagreement over the proposed delimitation meeting now puts the DMK and the ruling side at odds over how Tamil Nadu should collectively respond to issues that the parties say affect the state’s interests.

With PTI inputs